Executive condemns violence and calls for ‘unjustifiable’ attacks to stop

Ministers were updated on the situation over the last few days by the Chief Constable at a special meeting this morning.

Following this meeting, the Executive issued a statement in which the scenes of violence and destruction were condemned.

The statement said: “We are gravely concerned by the scenes we have all witnessed on our streets over the last week, including those at the Lanark Way interface last night.

“Attacks on police officers, public services and communities are deplorable and they must stop.

“Destruction, violence and the threat of violence are completely unacceptable and unjustifiable, no matter what concerns may exist in communities.”

The special meeting of the Executive took place after further violent incidents.

Locally concerns had been raised that children as young as 12 had been involved in disorder in the city earlier this week.

In one incident, 12 officers were injured, a care home damaged and elderly residents left terrified.

Across the North 55 police officers have been injured in the violence.

The statement on behalf of the Executive Ministers said that “those who would seek to use and abuse our children and young people to carry out these attacks have no place in our society.”

It added:“While our political positions are very different on many issues, we are all united in our support for law and order and we collectively state our support for policing and for the police officers who have been putting themselves in harm’s way to protect others.

“We, and our departments, will continue to work together to maximise the support we can give to communities and the PSNI to prevent further violence and unrest.”